Utility vehicle

ABSTRACT

A utility vehicle includes a front seat, a rear seat at a rear side of the front seat, and a cargo bed at a rear side of the rear seat, and a screen for partitioning the cargo bed and a riding space at a front side of the cargo bed. The cargo bed includes left and right fixed side walls, a front wall movable into the riding space, and left and right expansion side walls expandable into the riding space. The cargo bed is changeable between an expanded state in which the cargo bed is expanded forward into the riding space and a non-expanded state in which the cargo bed is not expanded into the riding space. The screen is attached to the front wall, and each expansion side wall is foldably attached to the front wall and a corresponding one of the fixed side walls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a utility vehicle in which a cargo bedcan be expanded forward so as to utilize an area or a capacity of acargo bed space and a riding space to a maximum extent according toneeds of a user.

2. Description of the Related Art

The present applicant filed applications of inventions relating to autility vehicle having a cargo bed in which an area or a capacity can beexpanded, and those applications have already been registered. Forexample, the inventions include U.S. Pat. No. 6,905,159, U.S. Pat. No.6,994,388, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,249,798.

In utility vehicles shown in the above documents, a front seat and arear seat are arranged in a riding space covered by a ROPS (Roll OverProtection Structure), and a cargo bed is arranged behind the rear seat.By changing the rear seat from a use state to a stowed state, a frontpart of the cargo bed can be expanded into the riding space which isoccupied by the rear seat in the use state.

In the above utility vehicles, a screen is provided in a front end ofthe cargo bed so that a cargo loaded on the cargo bed is not moved intothe riding space on the front side of the cargo bed. There is a need forchanging a position of this screen between a two-seater specification inwhich the cargo bed is expanded forward and a four-seater specificationin which the cargo bed is not expanded.

FIG. 19 shows one example of an expandable cargo bed shown in the abovedocuments. A cargo bed 400 is provided with a fixed bottom plate 401,left and right fixed side walls 402, a pair of left and right expansionside walls 404 supported pivotably on hinge shafts 403 which areprovided in front ends of the fixed side walls 402, an expansion bottomplate 405 provided in a front end of the fixed bottom plate 401, and afront wall 406. A screen 407 is integrated with the front wall 406.

Positioning and fixing pins 410 protruding downward are provided in bothleft and right ends of the screen 407. Pin insertion holes 411, 412 intowhich the pins 410 of the screen 407 are insertable are respectivelyformed on upper surfaces of tip ends of the expansion side walls 404 andon upper surfaces of the front ends of the fixed side walls 402.

As shown by solid lines in FIG. 19, when the expansion side walls 404are closed (in the four-seater specification), the screen 407 is placedin the front ends of both the fixed side walls 402, and the pins 410 ofthe screen 407 are inserted into the pin insertion holes 412 of thefixed side walls 402 from the upper side. Meanwhile, as shown byimaginary lines, when the expansion side walls 404 are opened forward(at the time of two-seater specification), the screen 407 is placed infront ends of both the expansion side walls 404, and the pins 410 of thescreen 407 are inserted into the pin insertion holes 411 of theexpansion side walls 404 from the upper side.

With the above configuration, in a case where the screen 407 is movedbetween an expansion position at the time of expansion of the cargo bed400 and a non-expansion position at the time of non-expansion of thecargo bed 400, firstly, the screen 407 has to be brought up togetherwith the front wall 406 in order to take out the left and right pins 410from the pin insertion holes 411 or 412. Then, there is a need forintegrally moving the screen 407 and the front wall 406 rearward orforward, and after moving, inserting the pins 410 into the pin insertionholes 412 or 411 from the upper side.

However, the screen 407 integrally having the front wall 406 is heavyand width of the screen 407 ranges over the substantially entire lateralwidth of the cargo bed 400. Thus, moving the screen 407 by one person ishighly troublesome and difficult. Therefore, currently, there is a needfor two operators to hold and bring up left and right ends of the screen407 and the front wall 406 so as to take out the pins 410, and aftermoving, insert the pins into the pin insertion holes 411 or 412 again.Thus, movement of the screen 407 is troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a utility vehicle inwhich a movement task of a screen in accordance with expansion andcontraction tasks of a cargo bed is simplified and even one operator caneasily and promptly perform the above task.

A utility vehicle includes a front seat, a rear seat, and a cargo bedprovided in order from the front side, and includes a screen forpartitioning the cargo bed and a riding space on the front side of thecargo bed,

wherein the cargo bed includes left and right fixed side walls, a frontwall movable into the riding space, and left and right expansion sidewalls expandable into the riding space, the cargo bed is changeablebetween an expanded state in which the cargo bed is expanded forwardinto the riding space and a non-expanded state in which the cargo bed isnot expanded in the riding space,

the screen is attached to the front wall, and

the expansion side walls are foldably attached to the front wall and thefixed side walls.

According to the above configuration, by extending or folding theexpansion side walls in a task of expanding or contracting the cargobed, a position of the screen can be easily changed between an expansionposition and a non-expansion position without bringing up the screen.

The present invention preferably further includes the followingconfigurations.

(1) The expansion side wall is coupled to the front wall and the fixedside wall via hinges and formed in such a manner that even numbers ofplate members are coupled to each other via a hinge.

(2) A locking mechanism for locking at least one of angles including anopen angle made by the front wall and the plate member taking the hingeas a vertex, an open angle made by the plate member and the fixed sidewall taking the hinge as a vertex, and an open angle made by the platemembers taking the hinge as a vertex to be predetermined angles in theexpanded state and the non-expanded state is provided.

(3) The plate members are coupled to each other by an elastic member soas to be biased in such a manner that the open angle is a predeterminedopen angle.

(4) A plurality of rollers is provided in a lower end of the front wall.

(5) Lock devices for fixing the front wall to a vehicle body at aposition in the expanded state and at a position in the non-expandedstate are provided on the left and right sides of the front wall, and

the lock devices are displaceable between a fixing position where thelock devices are placed on the outer side in the vehicle width directionof the cargo bed for fixing the front wall and a non-fixing positionwhere the lock devices are placed on the inner side in the vehicle widthdirection of the cargo bed.

(6) In the above configuration (5), hooks to be engaged with the lockdevices in the expanded state and the non-expanded state arerespectively provided in the vehicle body, and

the hooks are placed on the outer side in the vehicle width direction ofthe expansion side walls in the expanded state and the non-expandedstate.

(7) In the above configuration (5), the lock devices are placed on theouter side in the vehicle width direction of the expansion side walls atthe fixing position in the expanded state and the non-expanded state.

(8) In the above configuration (1), a fixing member for fixing the platemembers is provided.

According to the above configuration (1), a configuration of thefoldable expansion side walls can be readily achieved.

According to the above configuration (2), the plate members can be fixedin the expanded state and the non-expanded state.

According to the above configuration (3), the folded expansion side wallis biased in the direction in which the expansion side wall is extendedso as to have the predetermined angle by the elastic member. Thus, theexpansion side wall can be readily displaced from a folded state to anextended state.

According to the above configuration (4), the front wall can be readilymoved forward and rearward. Since the front wall is readily movedforward and rearward, the expansion side walls can be readily extendedor folded.

According to the above configuration (5), at the time of moving thefront wall forward and rearward, contact between side ROPS's provided inside ends of the vehicle body and the lock devices can be prevented byplacing the lock devices at the non-fixing position. At the time offixing the front wall, the front wall can be readily fixed to the sideends of the vehicle body by placing the lock devices at the fixingposition.

According to the above configuration (6), displacement of the expansionside walls to the outer side in the vehicle width direction can besuppressed by the hooks.

According to the above configuration (7), the displacement of theexpansion side walls to the outer side in the vehicle width directioncan be suppressed by the lock devices.

According to the above configuration (8), the plate members can be fixedso as not to be displaced.

In sum, according to the present invention, the utility vehicle in whichthe movement task of the screen in accordance with the expansion andcontraction tasks of the cargo bed is simplified and even one operatorcan easily and promptly perform the above task can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a utility vehicle according to the presentinvention in which a cargo bed is in a non-expanded state;

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the utility vehicle of FIG. 1 in which thecargo bed is in an expanded state;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of a part of the utility vehicle 1 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of a part of the utility vehicle 1 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged top view of a left expansion side wall 9 c in thenon-expanded state;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged top view of the left expansion side wall 9 c inthe expanded state;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing one embodiment in which a front hinge91, a rear hinge 92, and an intermediate hinge 95 can be fixed at twoangles;

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a fixing member 97 for fixing theexpansion side wall 9 c in a folded state or an expanded state;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the cargo bed 9 in the non-expanded state;

FIG. 10 is a front view of a front wall 9 e and a screen 11;

FIG. 11 is a left side view of a rear seat 22, the screen 11, and thecargo bed 9 in the non-expanded state of the cargo bed 9; and

FIG. 12 is a left side view of the rear seat 22, the screen 11, and thecargo bed 9 in the expanded state of the cargo bed 9.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state of a lock device 30;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing another state of the lock device30;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the other state of the lock device30;

FIG. 16 is a top view of the cargo bed 9;

FIG. 17 is a front view of the lock devices 30 in the state of FIG. 13;

FIG. 18 is a front view of the lock devices 30 in the state of FIG. 15;and

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a conventional cargo bed and aconventional screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a utility vehicle according to the presentinvention in a non-expanded state of a cargo bed, and FIG. 2 is a leftside view of the utility vehicle of FIG. 1 in an expanded state of thecargo bed. It should be noted that in the following description, aconcept of the direction used in the present embodiment matches with aconcept of the direction seen from a driver of the utility vehicle.

1. Entire Structure of the Vehicle

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a utility vehicle 1 is provided with a pairof left and right front wheels 2 in a front part of a vehicle body, apair of left and right rear wheels 3 in a rear part of the vehicle body,and a riding space (cabin) 4 between the front wheels 2 and the rearwheels 3. The riding space 4 is surrounded by a ROPS 5. An expandablecargo bed 9 is provided behind the riding space 4, and a bonnet 10 isprovided in front of the riding space 4. Further, a screen 11 forpartitioning from the riding space 4 is provided in a front end of thecargo bed 9. A bench type front seat 21 is installed in a front halfpart of the riding space 4, and a bench type stowable rear seat 22 isinstalled in a rear half part of the riding space 4. A left seating areaS1 of the front seat 21 is a driver seat, and an operation portion suchas a steering wheel 12 is provided in front of the left seating area S1.

2. Configuration of the ROPS

The ROPS 5 is an abbreviation of a rollover protective structure servingas a part of a vehicle body frame and being provided with a pair of leftand right front vertical members (side ROPS's) 5 a, a pair of left andright rear vertical members (side ROPS's) 5 b, a pair of left and rightintermediate vertical members (side ROPS's) 5 c arranged between thefront vertical members 5 a and the rear vertical members 5 b, and aplurality of upper end beam members 5 d for coupling upper ends of thevertical members 5 a, 5 b, 5 c.

3. Configuration of the Cargo Bed, Rear Seat, and Screen

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of a part of the utility vehicle 1 ofFIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of a part of the utilityvehicle 1 of FIG. 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, at the time of thenon-expanded state of the cargo bed 9, the stowable rear seat 22 is in ause state (a state that a passenger can be seated). As shown in FIGS. 2and 4, at the time of the expanded state of the cargo bed 9, the rearseat 22 is folded and stowed behind the front seat 21.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cargo bed 9 is provided with a bottomwall 9 a, left and right fixed side walls 9 b, left and right expansionside walls 9 c, a rear wall 9 d, and a front wall 9 e. The left andright expansion side walls 9 c are provided in front of the left andright fixed side walls 9 b. The left and right expansion side walls 9 care coupled to the front wall 9 e via front hinges 91 and also coupledto the left and right fixed side walls 9 b via rear hinges 92. Further,in each of the left and right expansion side walls 9 c, even numbers(two in the present embodiment) of plate members 93, 94 are coupled toeach other via an intermediate hinge 95, so that the expansion side wallis foldable by the intermediate hinge 95. As shown in FIG. 3, by foldingthe left and right expansion side walls 9 c, the cargo bed 9 is broughtinto the non-expanded state, and in this case, the rear seat 22 is inthe use state (the state that the passenger can be seated). Meanwhile,as shown in FIG. 4, by extending the left and right expansion side walls9 c in a straight form, the cargo bed 9 is brought into the expandedstate, and in this case, the rear seat 22 is folded and stowed behindthe front seat 21.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged top view of the left expansion side wall 9 c inthe non-expanded state, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged top view of the leftexpansion side wall 9 c in the expanded state. Hereinafter, withreference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a configuration of the expansion side wall 9c will be described in more detail.

As shown in FIG. 5, the front hinge 91 is provided with a hinge base 91a attached to a rear surface of the front wall 9 e, a hinge base 91 battached to a front surface of the plate member 93, and a hinge shaft 91c. The base 91 a and the base 91 b are coupled to the shaft 91 c so asto be pivotable on the shaft 91 c. The rear hinge 92 is provided with ahinge base 92 a attached to a rear surface of the plate member 94, ahinge base 92 b attached to a right surface of the fixed side wall 9 b,and a hinge shaft 92 c. The base 92 a and the base 92 b are coupled tothe shaft 92 c so as to be pivotable on the shaft 92 c. The intermediatehinge 95 is provided with a hinge base 95 a attached to a right surfaceof the plate member 93, a hinge base 95 b attached to a right surface ofthe plate member 94, and a hinge shaft 95 c. The base 95 a and the base95 b are coupled to the shaft 95 c so as to be pivotable on the shaft 95c.

The expansion side wall 9 c is displaced from a folded state of FIG. 5to an expanded state of FIG. 6 as follows. Regarding the front hinge 91,the base 91 b is pivoted on the shaft 91 c by 90 degrees (in the arrowA3 direction). Regarding the intermediate hinge 95, the base 95 a ispivoted on the shaft 95 c by 90 degrees (in the arrow A4 direction) andthe base 95 b is pivoted on the shaft 95 c by 90 degrees (in the arrowA5 direction). Regarding the rear hinge 92, the base 92 a is pivoted onthe shaft 92 c by 90 degrees (in the arrow A6 direction). As a result,the plate member 93 extending in the vehicle width direction isdisplaced so as to extend in the front and rear direction behind thefront wall 9 e. The plate member 94 extending in the vehicle widthdirection is displaced so as to extend in the front and rear directionbehind the plate member 93 extending in the front and rear direction andin front of the fixed side wall 9 b. The plate members 93, 94 and thefixed side wall 9 b are placed in line in the front and rear directionin this order. In the front hinge 91, an angle made by the base 91 a andthe base 91 b can be fixed at two angles including 0 degrees in thefolded state and 90 degrees in the extended state since the base 91 aand the base 91 b regulate each other. In a case where the angle made bythe base 91 a and the base 91 b is 0 degrees, an open angle made by thefront wall 9 e and the plate member 93 taking the front hinge 91 as avertex is 0 degrees. In a case where the angle made by the base 91 a andthe base 91 b is 90 degrees, the open angle made by the front wall 9 eand the plate member 93 taking the front hinge 91 as a vertex is 90degrees. Similarly, in the rear hinge 92, an angle made by the base 92 aand the base 92 b can be fixed at two angles including 90 degrees in thefolded state and 180 degrees in the extended state since the base 92 aand the base 92 b regulate each other. In a case where the angle made bythe base 92 a and the base 92 b is 90 degrees, an open angle made by theplate member 94 and the fixed side wall 9 b taking the rear hinge 92 asa vertex is 90 degrees. In a case where the angle made by the base 92 aand the base 92 b is 180 degrees, the open angle made by the platemember 94 and the fixed side wall 9 b taking the rear hinge 92 as avertex is 180 degrees. In the intermediate hinge 95, an angle made bythe base 95 a and the base 95 b can be fixed at two angles including 180degrees in the folded state and 0 degrees in the extended state sincethe base 95 a and the base 95 b regulate each other. In a case where theangle made by the base 95 a and the base 95 b is 180 degrees, an openangle made by the plate member 93 and the plate member 94 taking theintermediate hinge 95 as a vertex is 0 degrees. In a case where theangle made by the base 95 a and the base 95 b is 0 degrees, the openangle made by the plate member 93 and the plate member 94 taking theintermediate hinge 95 as a vertex is 180 degrees.

The plate member 93 and the plate member 94 are coupled to each other byan elastic member 934. The elastic member 934 is formed by a platespring for example. As shown in FIG. 6, the elastic member 934 biases sothat the angle made by the base 95 a and the base 95 b is 0 degrees,that is, the plate member 93 and the plate member 94 are in line in thefront and rear direction (the open angle made by the plate member 93 andthe plate member 94 taking the intermediate hinge 95 as a vertex is 180degrees). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, in a case where the angle madeby the base 95 a and the base 95 b is 180 degrees in the folded state,the elastic member 934 is compressed.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an embodiment different from theabove embodiment in which the front hinge 91, the rear hinge 92, and theintermediate hinge 95 can be fixed at two angles. In FIG. 7, theintermediate hinge 95 is taken as an example and described. As shown inFIG. 7, the shaft 95 c can be separated into a convex member 95 c 1 anda concave member 95 c 2. When the angle made by the base 95 a and thebase 95 b is set to specific two angles, a convex engagement portion 95c 12 of the convex member 95 c 1 and a concave engagement portion 95 c22 of the concave member 95 c 2 are engageable with each other. At thetime of changing the angle made by the base 95 a and the base 95 b,firstly, the convex engagement portion 95 c 1 and the concave engagementportion 95 c 2 are separated, and the base 95 a and the base 95 b arepivoted on the shaft 95 c. After the angle made by the base 95 a and thebase 95 b is made to be 0 degrees or 180 degrees, the convex engagementportion 95 c 1 and the concave engagement portion 95 c 2 are engagedwith each other. As a result, in the intermediate hinge 95, the anglemade by the base 95 a and the base 95 b can be fixed at 0 degrees and180 degrees.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, holes 9 e 2 are provided on upper surfaces ofboth ends of the front wall 9 e, holes 931, 932 are provided on uppersurfaces of both ends of the plate member 93, holes 941, 942 areprovided on upper surfaces of both ends of the plate member 94, and ahole 9 b 1 is provided on an upper surface of a front end of the fixedside wall 9 b. FIG. 8 is a schematic side view of a fixing member 97 forfixing the expansion side wall 9 c in the folded state or the expandedstate. By respectively inserting insertion portions 971, 972 of thefixing member 97 into the holes 932, 941, the plate member 93 and theplate member 94 can be fixed. Further, by respectively insertinginsertion portions 971, 972 of fixing members 97 into two other pairs ofadjacent holes (the hole 9 e 2 and the hole 931, and the hole 942 andthe hole 9 b 1), the entire expansion side wall 9 c can be fixed in thefolded state or the extended state so as to prevent backlash of theexpansion side wall 9 c.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the cargo bed 9 in the non-expanded state, andFIG. 10 is a front view of the front wall 9 e and the screen 11. Asshown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a plurality of rollers 9 e 1 is provided in alower end of the front wall 9 e of the cargo bed 9 so as to have a gapin the vehicle width direction. A cargo bed support frame 1 a of thevehicle body for supporting the cargo bed 9 is provided on the lowerside of the bottom wall 9 a. When the cargo bed 9 is displaced betweenthe non-expanded state and the expanded state, the front wall 9 e ismoved forward and rearward and at the time, the rollers 9 e 1 are movedforward and rearward on the upper side of the cargo bed support frame 1a.

FIG. 11 is a left side view of the rear seat 22, the screen 11, and thecargo bed 9 in the non-expanded state of the cargo bed 9, and FIG. 12 isa left side view of the rear seat 22, the screen 11, and the cargo bed 9in the expanded state of the cargo bed 9. In FIG. 11, the rear seat 22is in the use state that the passenger can be seated while facingforward and in FIG. 12, the rear seat is in a stowed state that a seatbottom 22 a is stowed on the front upper side. The specific stowed statewill be described below. In FIG. 11, a front end of the seat bottom 22 aof the rear seat 22 is pivotably supported on a front end of the cargobed support frame 1 a via an arm 25 and a hinge 26. A backrest 22 b ofthe rear seat 22 is fixed to the screen 11 by an attachment pipe 27. Thebackrest 22 b is movable in the front and rear direction together withthe front wall 9 e and the screen 11.

When the rear seat 22 is in the use state shown in FIG. 11, the seatbottom 22 a is disposed on an upper surface of the front end of thecargo bed support frame 1 a, and the backrest 22 b is placed on theupper side in the vicinity of a rear end of the seat bottom 22 a.Meanwhile, when the rear seat 22 is in the stowed state shown in FIG.12, the seat bottom 22 a is pivoted anticlockwise (in the arrow A1direction of FIG. 11) on the hinge 26 and brought into a substantiallyvertical state at a position in the vicinity of the front end of thecargo bed support frame 1 a. At this time, since a stopper 25 a providedin the arm 25 of the seat bottom 22 a is abutted with the cargo bedsupport frame 1 a, the seat bottom 22 a is maintained in a substantiallyvertical state. Meanwhile, the backrest 22 b is moved forward togetherwith the front wall 9 e and the screen 11 and abutted with or broughtclose to a rear surface of an upper part of the seat bottom 22 a.

In FIG. 11, the screen 11 is fixed to the front wall 9 e of the cargobed 9 as described above, and further, an L shape movable mount 28 whoselower piece protrudes forward when seen from the side is secured to alower end of the screen 11. A plurality of rollers (not shown) isrotatably provided on a lower surface of the movable mount 28, and themovable mount is supported on the upper surface of the cargo bed supportframe 1 a via these rollers movably in the front and rear direction.Thereby, a position of the screen 11 can be changed integrally with themovable mount 28 and the front wall 9 e between a first position at thetime of expansion of the cargo bed (FIG. 12) and a second position atthe time of non-expansion of the cargo bed on the rear side of the firstposition (FIG. 11). Lock devices 30 for respectively fixing the screen11 and the front wall 9 e to the cargo bed support frame 1 a at thefirst position and at the second position are respectively provided inboth left and right side parts of the lower end of the front wall 9 e.

4. Configuration of the Lock Device

FIGS. 13 to 15 are perspective views showing states of the lock device30, and FIG. 16 is a top view of the cargo bed 9. As shown in FIG. 13,each of the lock devices 30 is provided with a lever 30 a, a ring 30 ccoupled to the middle of the lever 30 a and caught on a hook 30 b whichis provided in the cargo bed support frame 1 a, a holder 30 d, and asubstantially vertically positioning and pivot pin 31 as lock parts. Thehook 30 b is placed on the outer side in the vehicle width direction ofthe expansion side wall 9 c in the expanded state and the non-expandedstate, respectively. The lever 30 a is pivotably supported by the holder30 d, and the holder 30 d is secured to the pivot pin 31. Thepositioning pin 31 is fitted to a retaining pipe 32 secured to the lowerend of the screen 11 movably in the up and down direction. As shown inFIG. 16, positioning holes 9 a 1 corresponding to the first position ofthe screen 11 and positioning holes 9 a 2 corresponding to the secondposition are formed in the bottom wall 9 a of the cargo bed 9. Byinserting the positioning pins 31 (FIG. 13) into the positioning holes 9a 1, 9 a 2, the screen 11 (FIG. 11) and the front wall 9 e (FIG. 11) areprecisely locked at the first position and at the second position. FIG.14 shows the lock device 30 in a state that the ring 30 c is removedfrom the hook 30 b. The lever 30 a, the ring 30 c, the holder 30 d, andthe positioning pin 31 are biased downward by an elastic body (notshown). As a result, even when the ring 30 c is removed from the hook 30b as shown in FIG. 14, the lever 30 a, the ring 30 c, the holder 30 d,and the positioning pin 31 are placed at a lowered position on the lowerside. It should be noted that since the lever 30 a, the ring 30 c, theholder 30 d, and the positioning pin 31 are coupled to each other, atleast one of the lever 30 a, the ring 30 c, the holder 30 d, and thepositioning pin 31 is required to be biased downward. For example, onlythe positioning pin is required to be biased downward by the elasticbody. The positioning pin 31 is pivotable on a positioning pin axis at alifted position within a range of substantially 90 degrees. FIG. 15shows the lock device 30 in a state that the positioning pin 31 ispivoted on the pin axis by substantially 90 degrees and the lever 30 a,the ring 30 c, and the holder 30 d are placed on the front side. FIG. 17is a front view of the lock devices 30 in the state of FIG. 13, and FIG.18 is a front view of the lock devices 30 in the state of FIG. 15. Asshown in FIG. 17, when the positioning pins 31 are inserted into thepositioning holes 9 a 2 or the positioning holes 9 a 1 and the rings 30c are caught on the hooks 30 b, so that the screen 11 and the front wall9 e are fixed, the levers 30 a, the rings 30 c, and the holders 30 d areplaced at a fixing position overlapping with the rear vertical members 5b of the ROPS 5 or on the inner side in the vehicle width direction ofouter ends of the rear vertical members 5 b and on the outer side in thevehicle width direction of the cargo bed 9. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG.18, when the positioning pins 31 are taken out from the positioningholes 9 a 2, the rings 30 c are removed from the hooks 30 b, and thepositioning pins 31 are pivoted, the levers 30 a, the rings 30 c, andthe holders 30 d are placed at a non-fixing position on the inner sidein the vehicle width direction of the rear vertical members 5 b of theROPS 5 and on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the cargobed 9. The lock devices 30 are placed on the outer side in the vehiclewidth direction of the expansion side walls 9 c at the fixing position.

Therefore, at the time of moving the screen 11 between the firstposition and the second position, from the state shown in FIGS. 13 and17, the rings 30 c are removed from the hooks 30 b as shown in FIG. 14.As shown in FIG. 14, by moving the levers 30 a, the rings 30 c, theholders 30 d, and the positioning pins 31 to the lifted position on theupper side and rotating the positioning pins 31 on the positioning pinaxes by substantially 90 degrees (in the arrow A2 direction), the levers30 a, the rings 30 c, and the holders 30 d can be placed on the innerside in the vehicle width direction of the rear vertical members 5 b ofthe ROPS 5 as shown in FIGS. 15 and 18. Thereby, the levers 30 a, therings 30 c, and the holders 30 d can be moved in the front and reardirection without contact with the rear vertical members 5 b.

5. Operation of the Cargo Bed, Rear Seat, and Screen

Hereinafter, operations relating to stowing of the rear seat 22,expansion of the cargo bed 9, and forward movement of the screen 11 willbe described.

As shown in FIG. 11, in the use state that the passenger can be seatedon the rear seat 22, as a matter of course, the cargo bed 9 is in thenon-expanded state, and the front wall 9 e of the cargo bed 9, thescreen 11, and the movable mount 28 are locked to the cargo bed supportframe 1 a at the second position by the left and right lock devices.

In a case where the cargo bed 9 is expanded from the state of FIG. 11,firstly, the rear seat 22 is stowed. That is, the seat bottom 22 a ofthe rear seat 22 is pivoted front-upward (in the arrow A2 direction) onthe hinge 26. As shown in FIG. 12, in a state that the seat bottom 22 ais substantially vertical, the seat bottom is locked by the stopper 25a.

Next, in the lock devices 30 in the state of FIG. 13, the levers 30 aare lowered and the rings 30 c are removed from the hooks 30 b for thesecond position. The levers 30 a and the holders 30 d are lifted and thepositioning pins 31 are taken out from the positioning holes 9 a 2 forthe second position. The positioning pins 31 are pivoted on the pivotpin axes by substantially 90 degrees (in the arrow A2 direction) at thelifted position. Thereby, the levers 30 a, the rings 30 c, and theholders 30 d are placed on the inner side in the vehicle width directionof the rear vertical members 5 b of the ROPS 5, so as to be movedforward on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the rearvertical members 5 b.

After that, the screen 11, the movable mount 28, and the front wall 9 eare integrally moved forward. In a state that the screen 11 reaches thefirst position, the positioning pins 31 are pivoted on the pivot pinaxes by 90 degrees (in the direction opposite to the arrow A2direction). The levers 30 a and the holders 30 d are lowered togetherwith the positioning pins 31 and the positioning pins 31 are insertedinto the positioning holes 9 a 1 for the first position. Finally, bycatching the rings 30 c on the hooks 30 b for the first position andbringing up the levers 30 a, the screen 11 is locked at the firstposition.

It should be noted that operations relating to displacement of the rearseat 22 to the use state, contraction of the cargo bed 9, and rearwardmovement of the screen 11 are performed by performing reverse operationsto the above operations.

According to the utility vehicle with the above configuration, thefollowing effects can be obtained.

(1) The screen 11 is attached to the front wall 9 e and the expansionside walls 9 c are foldably attached to the front wall 9 e and the fixedside walls 9 b. Thus, by extending or folding the expansion side walls 9c in a task of expanding or contracting the cargo bed 9, the position ofthe screen 11 can be easily changed between an expansion position and anon-expansion position without bringing up the screen 11.

(2) The expansion side walls 9 c are coupled to the front wall 9 e viathe front hinges 91 and coupled to the fixed side walls 9 b via the rearhinges 92, and the plate members 93, 94 are coupled to each other viathe intermediate hinges 95. Thus, a configuration of the foldableexpansion side walls 9 c can be readily achieved.

(3) In the expanded state and the non-expanded state, the open anglemade by the front wall 9 e and the plate member 93 taking the fronthinge 91 as a vertex, the open angle made by the plate member 94 and thefixed side wall 9 b taking the rear hinge 92 as a vertex, and the openangle made by the plate members 93, 94 taking the intermediate hinge 95as a vertex are locked to be predetermined angles. Thus, the platemembers 93, 94 can be fixed in the expanded state and the non-expandedstate.

(4) The plate members 93, 94 are biased by the elastic member 934 so asto have the open angle of 180 degrees (so that the angle made by thebase 95 a and the base 95 b is 0 degrees). Thus, the folded expansionside wall 9 c is biased in the direction in which the expansion sidewall is extended by the elastic member 934. Therefore, the expansionside wall 9 c can be readily displaced from the folded state to theextended state by the elastic member 934.

(5) Since the plurality of rollers 9 e 1 is provided in the lower end ofthe front wall 9 e, the front wall 9 e can be readily moved forward andrearward. Since the front wall 9 e is readily moved forward andrearward, the expansion side walls 9 c can be readily extended orfolded.

(6) The lock devices 30 for fixing the front wall 9 e to the vehiclebody at a position in the expanded state and at a position in thenon-expanded state are provided on the left and right sides of the frontwall 9 e, and the lock devices 30 are displaceable between the fixingposition where the lock devices 30 are placed on the outer side in thevehicle width direction of the cargo bed 9 for fixing the front wall 9 eand the non-fixing position where the lock devices 30 are placed on theinner side in the vehicle width direction of the cargo bed 9. Thus, atthe time of moving the front wall 9 e forward and rearward, the contactbetween the rear vertical members 5 b provided in side ends of thevehicle body and the lock devices 30 can be prevented by placing thelock devices 30 at the non-fixing position. At the time of fixing thefront wall 9 e, the front wall 9 e can be readily fixed to the side endsof the vehicle body by placing the lock devices 30 at the fixingposition. As a result, forward and rearward movement of the front wall 9e of the cargo bed 9 in accordance with expansion and contraction tasksof the cargo bed 9 can be smoothly performed.

(7) The hooks 30 b to be engaged with the lock devices 30 in theexpanded state and the non-expanded state are respectively provided inthe vehicle body, and the hooks 30 b are placed on the outer side in thevehicle width direction of the expansion side walls 9 c in the expandedstate and the non-expanded state. Thus, displacement of the expansionside walls 9 c to the outer side in the vehicle width direction can besuppressed by the hooks 30 b.

(8) In the expanded state, the lock devices 30 are placed on the outerside in the vehicle width direction of the expansion side walls 9 c atthe fixing position. Thus, the displacement of the expansion side walls9 c to the outer side in the vehicle width direction can be suppressedby the lock devices 30.

(9) By attaching the fixing member 97 for fixing the plate members 93,94 to each other, the plate members 93, 94 can be fixed so as not to bedisplaced to the inner side or the outer side in the vehicle widthdirection.

(10) The positioning holes 9 a 1 corresponding to the first position ofthe screen 11 and the positioning holes 9 a 2 corresponding to thesecond position are formed in the bottom wall 9 a of the cargo bed 9. Byinserting the positioning pins 31 into the positioning holes 9 a 1, 9 a2, the screen 11 and the front wall 9 e are precisely locked at thefirst position and at the second position. Therefore, the screen 11 andthe front wall 9 e can be reliably positioned, and the front wall 9 ecan be readily fixed by the lock devices 30.

(11) The levers 30 a, the rings 30 c, the holders 30 d, and thepositioning pins 31 of the lock devices 30 are biased downward by theelastic bodies. Thus, even in a case where the lock devices 30 do notfix the front wall 9 e, the levers 30 a, the rings 30 c, the holders 30d, and the positioning pins 31 are placed at the lowered position on thelower side. As a result, the front wall 9 e can be readily fixed.

(12) The levers 30 a and the rings 30 c of the lock devices 30 arepivoted by substantially 90 degrees between the fixing position and thenon-fixing position. Thus, the lock devices 30 can be readily displacedbetween a position on the outer side in the vehicle width directionserving as the fixing position and a position on the inner side in thevehicle width direction serving as the non-fixing position.

(13) The seat bottom 22 a of the rear seat 22 is stowed in asubstantially vertical state in the expanded state. Thus, a stowingspace of the seat bottom 22 a can be reduced in the front and reardirection.

(14) Since the backrest 22 b of the rear seat 22 is attached to thescreen 11, the backrest 22 b is automatically moved forward and rearwardby moving the screen 11 forward and rearward. Thus, a position change ofthe screen 11 in accordance with the expansion and the contraction ofthe cargo bed 9 can be readily performed.

In the above embodiment, in the expanded state and the non-expandedstate, the open angle made by the front wall 9 e and the plate member 93taking the front hinge 91 as a vertex, the open angle made by the platemember 94 and the fixed side wall 9 b taking the rear hinge 92 as avertex, and the open angle made by the plate members 93, 94 taking theintermediate hinge 95 as a vertex are locked to be predetermined angles.However, in order to fix the plate members 93, 94, at least one of theangles including the open angle made by the front wall 9 e and the platemember 93 taking the front hinge 91 as a vertex, the open angle made bythe plate member 94 and the fixed side wall 9 b taking the rear hinge 92as a vertex, and the open angle made by the plate members 93, 94 takingthe intermediate hinge 95 as a vertex is required to be locked to bepredetermined angles.

In the above embodiment, the two plate members are provided on each ofthe left and right sides. However, the number of the plate members isnot limited to two but any even numbers of the plate members may beprovided on each of the left and right sides.

In the above embodiment, the front seat 21 and the rear seat 22 areformed into a bench type. However, the seats may be formed into a boxtype.

Various modifications and changes can be made without departing from thespirit and the scope of the present invention described in the claims.

1. A utility vehicle, comprising: a front seat; a rear seat at a rearside of the front seat; a cargo bed at a rear side of the rear seat; anda screen for partitioning the cargo bed and a riding space at a frontside of the cargo bed; wherein the cargo bed includes left and rightfixed side walls, a front wall movable into the riding space, and leftand right expansion side walls expandable into the riding space, thecargo bed is changeable between an expanded state in which the cargo bedis expanded forward into the riding space and a non-expanded state inwhich the cargo bed is not expanded into the riding space, wherein thescreen is attached to the front wall, wherein the left expansion sidewall is foldably attached to the front wall and the left fixed sidewall, and the right expansion side wall is foldably attached to thefront wall and the right fixed side wall, wherein the left expansionside wall is coupled to the front wall via a first left hinge and iscoupled to the left fixed side wall via a second left hinge, and theleft expansion side wall comprises a plurality of plate members coupledto each other via a third left hinge, and wherein the right expansionside wall is coupled to the front wall via a first right hinge and iscoupled to the right fixed side wall via a second right hinge, and theright expansion side wall comprises a plurality of plate members coupledto each other via a third right hinge.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The utilityvehicle according to claim 1, comprising: a left locking mechanism at aleft side of the cargo bed, the left locking mechanism being configuredto lock, in each of the expanded state and the non-expanded state, atleast one of (i) the front wall and the plate member of the leftexpansion side wall adjacent to the front wall at an open angle with thefirst left hinge as a vertex, (ii) the left fixed side wall and theplate member of the left expansion side wall adjacent to the left fixedside wall at an open angle with the second left hinge as a vertex, and(iii) the plate members of the left expansion side wall at an open anglewith the third left hinge as a vertex; and a right locking mechanism ata right side of the cargo bed, the right locking mechanism beingconfigured to lock, in each of the expanded state and the non-expandedstate, at least one of (i) the front wall and the plate member of theright expansion side wall adjacent to the front wall at an open anglewith the first right hinge as a vertex, (ii) the right fixed side walland the plate member of the right expansion side wall adjacent to theright fixed side wall at an open angle with the second right hinge as avertex, and (iii) the plate members of the right expansion side wall atan open angle with the third right hinge as a vertex.
 4. The utilityvehicle according to claim 1, wherein, in each of the left and rightexpansion side walls, the plate members are coupled to each other by anelastic member so as to be biased in such a manner that an open anglebetween the plate members is a predetermined open angle.
 5. The utilityvehicle according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of rollers is providedin a lower end of the front wall.
 6. The utility vehicle according toclaim 1, comprising: lock devices provided on left and right sides ofthe front wall, respectively, each of the lock devices being configuredto fix the front wall to a vehicle body at a position in the expandedstate and at a position in the non-expanded state, wherein each of thelock devices is configured to move between a fixing position where thelock device is at one of left and right outer sides of the vehicle bodyfor fixing the front wall, and a non-fixing position where the lockdevice is at an inner side of the vehicle body, the inner side beingcloser to a longitudinal center axis of the utility vehicle than theouter side.
 7. The utility vehicle according to claim 6, comprising:left hooks provided on the left outer side of the vehicle body, the lefthooks being configured to engage with the lock device at the left outerside of the vehicle body in the expanded state and the non-expandedstate, wherein the left hooks are spaced apart on the left outer side ofthe vehicle body along a first line parallel to the longitudinal centeraxis of the utility vehicle; and right hooks provided on the right outerside of the vehicle body, the right hooks being configured to engagewith the lock device at the right outer side of the vehicle body in theexpanded state and the non-expanded state, wherein the right hooks arespaced apart on the right outer side of the vehicle body along a secondline parallel to the longitudinal center axis of the utility vehicle. 8.The utility vehicle according to claim 6, wherein each of the lockdevices has two fixing positions on a corresponding one of the left andright outer sides of the vehicle body, one of the fixing positions forthe expanded state and the other one of the fixing positions for thenon-expanded state.
 9. The utility vehicle according to claim 1,comprising: a fixing member for fixing the plate members of the leftexpansion side wall, and a fixing member for fixing the plate members ofthe right expansion side wall.
 10. The utility vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein, for each of the left and right expansion side walls,said plurality of plate members is constituted by an even number ofplate members.
 11. The utility vehicle according to claim 1, wherein theplate members of the left expansion side wall are foldably attached toeach other, and wherein the plate members of the right expansion sidewall are foldably attached to each other.
 12. The utility vehicleaccording to claim 1, wherein the third left hinge is located in betweenthe plate members of the left expansion side wall, and wherein the thirdright hinge is located in between the plate members of the rightexpansion side wall.
 13. The utility vehicle according to claim 1,wherein, in the non-expanded state: the plate members of the leftexpansion side wall are parallel to each other, and the plate members ofthe right expansion side wall are parallel to each other.
 14. Theutility vehicle according to claim 13, wherein, in the non-expandedstate: the plate members of the left expansion side wall are parallel tothe front wall, and the plate members of the right expansion side wallare parallel to the front wall.
 15. The utility vehicle according toclaim 1, wherein, in the expanded state: the left expansion side walland the left fixed side wall are collinear, and the right expansion sidewall and the right fixed side wall are collinear.
 16. The utilityvehicle according to claim 15, wherein, in the expanded state: the platemembers of the left expansion side wall are collinear, and the platemembers of the right expansion side wall are collinear.